Extremely rare 75-carat briolette diamond up for sale

May 7 - Auction house Christie's showcases a 75.36-carat briolette-style diamond, the largest of its kind to appear in an auction. Elly Park reports.

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Bored of your brilliant or princess cut stone?
How about a pear-shaped briolette?
Christie's Hong Kong is previewing this beauty, which they say is the biggest briolette diamond ever to appear at auction.
And it comes with a heavy price tag, estimated to sell between $8.5 to 12.5 million U.S. dollars.
Chiang Shiu-Fung is Christie's resident jewelry expert.
SOUNDBITE: Chiang Shiu-Fung, Jewellery Specialist At Christie's Hong Kong, saying (English)
"I remember when I first joined Christie's in 2007, that was already six years ago. We had a similar item, also a briolette with D-flawless clarity, but that is only a 30-something carats, so this is a double. So you can see how rare it is."
What makes the 75 carat stone exceptional is not just its size.
The briolette is of Type IIa quality, the chemically purest of all diamonds.
Other famous Type IIa's includes the Koh-i-Noor set in the crown of Queen Elizabeth.
This and other 290 rare jewels are going under the hammer on May 28.

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